Once homeless veteran finds help

Complaints continue to pour in against Veterans Affairs offices across the nation but one Southeast Texas marine is crediting the VA with putting a roof over his head.

After living outside of grocery stores in Vidor for four and a half months, Raymond Vernum said he's grateful to finally have a place to call home, but getting there wasn't easy.

"I've had four landlords promise me they were going to make out the paperwork so I could get off the street and when it came to making out the paperwork they said they weren't going to do it," Vernum said.

Vernum was finally accepted at Waterfall Apartments in Vidor. The woman who approved his application said she knew he had nothing to his name so she took to Facebook to ask for help on his behalf.

"Instantly I was getting people wanting to help, wanting to donate, just an immediate response," she said, "and it just continued and still continues."

That woman along with all of the other good Samaritans who have helped Vernum get settled in his new home asked to remain anonymous. They said they did this to help Vernum, not to receive praise.

Vernum said those people have made the biggest impact on his life, just by donating some groceries and a little bit of furniture.

"Before I was homeless I didn't know how many people cared but there's a lot of people that do," Vernum said.

Despite sleeping on an air mattress and only having a towel to use as a pillow, Vernum said he couldn't be more grateful.

"It doesn't seem like thank you is enough they gave me the strength to keep going when I wanted to give up," Vernum said.

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates that close to 60,000 US veterans are homeless on any given night.